The big-eyed boy is popular in the auction, starting from Yoshitomo Nara, the larger the eyes of the people painted, the higher the price, and the faster it sells. No, at the 2022 Spring Auction of Sotheby's, Yoshitomo Nara's big-eyed girl's work "Extra Comfort" sold for HK$111.97 million, and the Spanish art rookie Javier Calega, who is known as the "Michi Nara Imitator", and the same big-eyed boy's work "Hope You Don't Mind" was auctioned for HK$6.678 million, up 10 times from the previous estimate.
Yoshitomo Nara "Extra Comfort"
Javier Kalaga, "I Hope You Don't Mind"
Bigeye's popularity in the auction scene seems unreasonable, but in fact, today, Bigeye's works are indeed easier to be popular than other works of art. Nara Yoshitomo's big-eyed girl is a myth in the Asian art market, the lonely little girl he created with a slightly evil look does not know why it has hooked the hearts of modern people, and in the past 10 years, Nara Michi, her little girl's eyes are becoming more and more clear and transparent, the silhouette is getting bigger and bigger, and the price is getting higher and higher.
Yoshitomo Nara, "The Face That Only Appeared in My Head", 2000
Yoshitomo Nara, Angry Boy, 2008
At the Hong Kong Sotheby's Spring Auction of Contemporary Art Evening Auction, a total of 3 Nara Yoshitomo works were auctioned, and as a result, two portraits created in 2000 and 2008, "The Face That Only Appeared in My Mind" and "Angry Boy", because the eyes were slightly evil, lonely, and the silhouette was small, they only auctioned more than 20 million Hong Kong dollars, and "Extra Comfortable" created in 2013, in which the little girl took the route of big eyes, the eyes were simple and clear, and they were auctioned for 111.97 million yuan.
Javier Kalaga
Big eyes are good to sell, and perhaps the Spaniard Javier Calega also realized this. Born in 1971, he was originally a gymnastics teacher, switched to art, debuted in art at the age of 30, and held his first solo exhibition in 2003, his influence was limited to his hometown of Málaga and a few European cities, of course, at that time, he had not yet begun to paint big eyes.
Havel's big-eyed boy appeared in 2017, and it was also promoted by Japanese galleries, from painting, printmaking, sculpture to tide play, all-round marketing, which quickly opened up the Asian market, and in 2018, it became a hit through Art Basel in Hong Kong. At that time, the price, each painting sold for three or five hundred thousand yuan, which was already a very good price for a newcomer in the art world.
Javier's big-eyed work
The image of Javier's big eyes is very simple, mostly the image of a cute boy with big jewel-like eyes, their smiles are innocent, and their hair is fluffy like a cloud. The brightly colored works give people a relaxed, childlike and healing feeling, and they look "extra comfortable". The artist has everything he wants to express in the boy's eyes, and such a big eye often attracts the audience at once.
At the 2021 Art021 Shanghai Art Fair, a gallery brought a work by Javier's big-eyed boy, and the young and fashionable audience was always surrounded by the painting, and they even whispered: "I heard that this painting cannot be sold alone, but must be sold by other artists." ”
It's no secret that Javier's work already has a long list of buyers waiting to be purchased. At the Hong Kong Sotheby's Spring Auction, Javier's big-eyed work "I Hope You Don't Mind" was originally estimated at HK$600,000 to HK$800,000, and as soon as the auction began, it directly started from HK$1.5 million, and after fierce competition among collectors, it finally fell at HK$5.3 million (excluding commissions).
Of course, the rapid rise of young collectors in today's art market is a big reason for the popularity of Bigeye's works, and this trend will continue to spread under the strong support of the commercial atmosphere, which is also a big test for the artist's creative mentality.